Christmas is almost here!

I'm so excited for Christmas, and I just can't stand it! It's not because of the gifts (Although, I'm excited to give to my boys). It's because Thing 1 understands the true meaning of Christmas. At first he was pretty excited about Santa coming, however, Santa hasn't been that big of a deal once we explained Christmas with my Nativity. The first Family Home Evening of December we talked about The Nativity. We used my special Nativity that Dad gave me as "action figures". It was so exciting seeing everything click in Thing 1's eyes. We have even focused family scripture study and all of our FHEs on the birth of Christ. It's been a wonderful experience. Don't get me wrong, Santa is coming Christmas and for many more Christmas', but he's not at the forefront, let alone the reason why we celebrate this wonderful day. Merry Christmas and may you remember the true reason why we celebrate this blessed holiday.

P.S. The snow has finally arrived here lil old Southeast Idaho, so I'm no longer in rebellion, enjoy the snow!

More of July (To help remind me it doesn't stay cold forever here)

I am in complete an total rebellion. Until the snow stays on the ground, I will not be putting up a snow background. I was so excited for snow, but it has yet to come. No, it's too cold to snow, it has certainly tried. Last week there was an awesome storm that put down maybe two inches in IF, but it was gone by the end of the day. So there, :)

Back to when it was warmer and sunnier..... Thing 2 received his first haircut and it went awesome. No crying or fussing. He talked and giggled with the stylist, it was awesome! So I've been giving him his haircuts since. No, I haven't had professional training. I was taught on dairy heifers. I used to clip them with big animal shears, and I was good at it. I like the haircuts that I give my boys, because they look good. Before his haircut

After

Mommy went with Daddy to a Cisco Live! conference in July. Guess where? Las Vegas! It was exciting for about 24 hours. Going out on the strip at night was not a good idea, but it was the only time we got to go out together. The outlet malls were nice for picking stuff up for the boys, but there wasn't much else I got to do. I ended up getting a nasty cough, and I was coughing up cigarette smoke and who knows what else for a week. It was disgusting.

At the end of July, Dad and I had three family members graduate from BYU-Idaho. Yay! We were so proud of them. Dad's sister-in-law graduated from Recreational Leadership.

Dad's younger sister and her husband as well. She graduated I believe with an Arts degree and he graduated in Computer Information Technology. All three of them received a Bachelor's of Science.

Come on give me some credit, I'm doing better! :)

A Moment to Blog Independence Day

Finally, I'm not crazily running around cleaning, or editing or something that requires no computer time. So here we go. Not a whole ton happened in June, so I'm going to start back up in July. Particularly on Independence Day weekend. My family came into town and we were able to go up to Driggs at Huntsman Springs and participate in bunch of free activities.


This little car that Thing 1is standing by is the car that I grew up watching. It was used in one of the original movies in the late 1960's. This was...Herbie!

 An air show provided by the Air Museum in Rexburg. It was pretty cool.

 The boys were a little bored for a little while, but thankfully it didn't last too long. We actually stripped Thing 2 down from his shirt and hat so that he wasn't so warm.

 Here's my happy and joyous Thing 2.

 I loved this one of him with Daddy, waving the flag and all sorts of happy. Thing 2 was called a girl twice at this event despite the blue shirt he was wearing. So, he got a haircut a week and a half later.

 My Mom and Dad are here on the right. My Dad can fall asleep just about anywhere. No joke.   

 Thing 1 stole Grandma's iPhone to play games many times.

 My youngest sister. She was so fried by the end of the day, thankfully you can't tell, but she could feel it the next day.

 My parents in front of the Grand Tetons.

Fireworks from that night.




Monday was actually Independence Day and I introduced Lil' Sis to a group called Americanas located in Rexburg, they're a horse riding drill team. Rexburg's rodeo was that day and so we were able to watch her ride in the grand entrance and National Anthem. 

We were standing there talking and these little girls came up to her just wanting to talk. Now if you grow up around the rodeo world as a little girl, the princesses and queens are always shiny and beautiful. Well I do believe that these sweet little girls thought Lil' Sis to be a queen, they were absolutely adoring her.

Do you know what a pole cat is?

I know it's been a while since you may have heard from/about our family. I do apologize. It has been a very busy summer, and now that fall has arrived, it's cool enough that I can stay inside for a little and get some other things done. Well I thought that I might start with the blog. Here's a little story that I think you might find amusing.

About two weeks ago, Thing 1 and I were out picking tomatoes out of the garden. Mind you it was dark, but not cold yet. So probably about 7:30ish. Thing 1 had a head lamp on so that he could use both hands and see what he was doing; I had a long tube flashlight that I love how bright it is. While we are loading our boxes full of the wonderful red fruit I hear a heavy rusting of leaves at the edge of our back property. Thinking, "Great, who's dog is out and about right now." I lift my light up and see a cat, not just any cat, a pole cat (skunk) running full bore at Thing 1 and I. As soon as I took my huge gasp, I very urgently tell Thing 1, "Thing 1, RUN! There's a skunk!" We both ran for the house and to the safety of a clean smelling sanctuary. That pole cat stunk up the neighborhood for the night, and I heard the next day that someone had found it rubbing up against the foundation of their house. Yech!

I learned that Thing 1 recognizes the urgency in my voice, he listens without question which I am completely grateful for and that he is an awesome little boy.

More to come soon. So don't give up on us yet!

Catch up: Memorial Day

So, here's what we did on Memorial Day. We went to Grandpa P's grave and Granmda L's. We got to clean them up, put flowers on and spent time working on the garden. Again. Imagine that, prepping the garden around Memorial Day in Idaho. :) 

We went out to Grandma P's house for lunch with a good portion of my husband's extended family. It was fun, and Thing 1 had a blast with his a cousin-in-law of Daddy's.

Lots of tag and chasing.

Thing 2 was really tired and almost fell asleep in Daddy's arms. Daddy didn't have a problem falling asleep while holding him though.

Thing 1 was holding and adopted uncle's flag. He passed away on a British island during World War I.

Aunt D and cousin S. 

Thing 1 loves to help. Thankfully that hasn't changed. 

"I didn't do it Mommy" He said so innocently.

 Whee!!!!

What you lookin at?

Thing 1 and Grandma GG wandering around the cemetery. Reading and looking at different headstones. 

Grandpa's headstone

Milestones

Thing 2 has reached some milestones in the last week and I thought I might share them. I don't have a whole lot of pictures of them, but I'll still include a picture of my baby boy (Okay THREE pictures). He's currently cutting what looks to be like four teeth. The top four, poor tyke. Last Saturday, he officially started crawling. Almost two weeks ago he started sitting up on his own. Last week sometime I can't remember the exact date, but it's on the calendar, he has been pulling himself onto his knees. Not two days later he was pulling himself up into a standing position. Obviously while holding onto something. It's been exciting to watch, and it seems that he has reached all of these milestones within less than two weeks. So in a nutshell, Thing 2 is very mobile and growing so fast.

Thing  Likes putting his Mickey ears on Thing 2, and Thing 2 doesn't mind it at all.











 Yes, I know this one is blurry, but I wanted to show a completely joyous face of Thing 2. And this was the only one I got that day with the Mickey ears.

Almost Too Much Chocolate Cake

For those of you who live nearby, you know that I've been having waaaay too much fun with this wonderful recipe from an old friend of mine and cake creator. It's called Almost Too Much Chocolate Cake. I've made a few variations of it for my sister's birthday (Raspberry filling) and Mother's Day (Cherry filling), but this was my first go at it. This was for the Relief Society birthday party. It was a sheet cake and 12x18 so no layers or filling. It turned out beautiful! Let the mouthwatering begin!

Randomness

We're alive and kicking, don't worry, we're just busy. Busy with colds, prepping the garden, spring cleaning while it pours rain. Ya know, this and that. Here are some shots of the  boys to keep up with them. Thing 2 is in my favorite outfit that he has worn yet (Thanks Aunt Rhen, she has good taste ;) ). Unfortunately, it didn't last very long, because the turkey just won't quit growing. He's just too big for his own good, but I'm okay with it, but how big is he going to get?

Thing 1 where are you?

There you are! Thing one painted while one of his aunts was here working on a project for a college course. He had a lot of fun. He's had this painting for quite some time and it is still hanging on the fridge.  He is an even better helper. He went out and got the mail today and then the garbage truck came right after he brought me the mail. So Thing 1 proceeded to grab the 95 gallon garbage can and put it away. That's awesome for a 3 and 1/2 year old. I'm grateful for the helper that he is.

The Many Faces of Thing 2

These are just a few of the faces that Thing 2 made in less than a minute. Looking at these pictures makes all of us smile every time. Enjoy Thing 2's expressions.

His "What?" face. This is Daddy's favorite photo of him right now.

Two versions of his Happy face.

An almost shocked/don't know what to think face. 

And we'll end with another happy face. 

December 2010

In December my younger sister graduated from college (Hooray! Congrats dear sister!) Our parents and some of our siblings were able to come up and attend the graduation, so we went sledding and had lots of cold fun. I took Thing 2 with me outside and to the sledding location, so here are some videos and pictures from our little adventure.

I love this picture. Thing 2 was bundled up very well and in a pack so that it was easier to haul him around and up the hill. Can you see his little eye?

My brother-in-law gave us lifts up to the top of the hill with the snowmobile. It was nice. 

Thing 2 even got a ride down the hill, not very far, but he got a ride nonetheless. 

My feet caught some snow as we were going down the hill and it got in Thing 1's face, poor kid, was not happy at all. 

This was a lot of fun. Thing 1 had a blast (other than the picture above :) ).

These are a Few of Mommy and Daddy's Favorite Things

We were in the middle of reading scriptures about two weeks ago when Thing 1 said, "I want to hold Thing 2." Without waiting, he grabbed Thing 2 off of Daddy, and pulled him onto him for a hug. I quickly grabbed the camera and was able to get two shots. I love this one because Thing 2 is looking up at his big brother and actually laying on him. Right before I got the camera, Thing 1 said, "I love Thing 2." These are a few of the joys of having a big brother who loves his baby brother. 

 

  

For those of you who don't know what that little yellow blow up doll (minion) is, go watch Despicable Me, it's an awesome show that the entire family will love. Thing 2 is sitting up on his own and has been doing so for just a few short weeks (I mean sitting up straight up, not folded in half). He loves the minion and is always playing with it and hitting it.

 Thing 1 is normally right there with him playing and having tons of fun. It is so much fun watching the two of them play together. As Thing 2 has become more mobile in his rolling, Thing 1 is much more interactively playing with him.